The problem of impunity has been a major issue for those who care about bringing the murderers of journalists to justice.

The Inter American Press Association has rune Project Impunity for about 10 years. In that time, the IAPA has sent delegations to Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Argentina and other countries in the Americas. The missions were designed to let the government leaders know directly that the regional media were looking at how aggressively the governments go after the murderers of journalists.

The UNESCO document on impunity and dangers to journalists came out March 25 after the usual long process United Nations vetting process. (Their data ends in 2007.)

The issue of impunity is not limited to just the Americas. Too many journalists are targeted because they are doing their jobs.

I wouldn’t count on any of the countries that have not responded to the UNESCO requests for information about the status of the criminal investigations to change their ways overnight. I have more hope that journalists around the world will keep an eye on these countries.

And I suppose it is too much to ask that maybe a few stories about the progress (or lack thereof) might occasionally be done.